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PART 23 A Pure and Honest Christmas


"Marron! I'm so happy you came!" Bra said as she ran towards Marron.
"No way would I miss this party." Marron said with a smile.
"Hey, Marron!" Pan called out as she went towards her two friends.
"Hi, Pan-chan!" Marron replied.
"Hmm... You got a present there?" Pan asked, looking at the
package wrapped up in Marron's arms.
"Uh...yeah." Marron replied nervously.
"Who is it for, huh Marron-san? Who, who, who?" Bra asked.
"Is it for a...special boy?" Pan asked, giving Marron a nudge and
a wink. Marron blushed.
"Well...I guess..." she replied, looking down at the floor. "B-but
I got gifts for you, too, y'know! This present is just the one that...
had to be homemade like in your invitation." She took out something
from her pocket. "See?"

You are invited to the Briefs Christmas Party at Capsule Corporation

The party will be on Christmas Eve, December 24 from 6:OO to 1O:OO PM

You may bring as many presents as you want for friends and family

But you must make one homemade present for a special someone

Please come to the party. Thank you!


"Oh yeah." Bra said. "So who is it for?"
"Just a friend." Marron said.
"It's so obvious who Marron-san's gonna give it to." Pan said. "To
Trunks, of course!"
"Right!" Bra agreed.
"I-I never said that!" Marron protested. Bra and Pan crossed their
arms and stared at her.
"Wh-why would you think that? It-it could be for someone else. You
two are my friends and I also have Goten-kun and Ubuu-san." Marron
said.
"Yeah..." Bra said. "But didn't you BUY them presents?"
"Eh..."
"That's right!" said Pan. "We were talking and Bra asked you where
you bought presents because she couldn't find anything that would be
good for her dad. Then, you said you bought Uncle Goten and Ubuu's
present at a certain store."
"Well..." Marron said. "I-I didn't say I bought YOUR presents, now
did I?"
"Yes you did." Pan said. "You told me that you bought Bra that...
er...um... You told me you bought Bra's gift."
"You know what Marron got for me?!" Bra asked Pan. "What is it?
What is it?"
"I'm not supposed ta say." Pan replied.
"Please! Please! Please!" Bra said. "I'll tell you what she bought
for you!"
"No! No! No!" Marron said. "I told you guys to keep it a secret!"
"Then tell us who that present's for." Bra said.
"Yeah! Or else we'll blab." Pan added.
"No! That's blackmail!" Marron said.
"Then tell us!" Pan and Bra said.
"Can't you just wait?" Marron asked.
"No!" Pan and Bra replied.
"That'd ruin all the fun." Bra said.
"Why don't you just ask Goten who he got a gift for?" Marron asked.
"Or Ubuu?"
"Nah." Pan said. "They're boring."
"So I'M not?!" Marron asked.
"We know Goten's getting a gift for his mom and we know that Ubuu's
getting a gift for Goku-san." Bra said.
"Then I'm giving my gift to my father." Marron said.
"You already bought him one." Bra pointed out.
"Then my mom." Marron said.
"You already bought her one." Pan said.
"Then this is for someone else aside from whoever you think it is!"
Marron said.
"Oh really?" Pan and Bra asked.
Marron let out a deep sigh and turned around. "You two are just
so IMPOSSIBLE! I'll see you later."
"But Marron-san--" Pan and Bra called out. Marron ran into the
crowd and disappeared. Pan and Bra didn't bother looking for her
and went off to talk to other people.


Marron sighed. "I really can't believe those two..."
"You can't believe WHICH two?" a voice asked from behind.
"Ah!" Marron shrieked. Then she saw Trunks. A deep blush formed
on her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Trunks-kun. Very, very sorry."
"Don't be." Trunks replied. "I should be sorry, not you. So... Who
are you talking about?"
"Pan and Bra." Marron said.
"What did they do to you?"
"It was about my homemade present."
"You actually made one?"
"Of course. Didn't everybody?"
"Yeah. Who did you make it for?"
"Eh...do you honestly want to know?"
"Is it for your mom or dad?"
"Well..."
"Goten or Ubuu?"
"Uh..."
"Pan or Bra?"
"I..."
"A certain boy?"
"..."
"A boy?"
"Aren't you going to suggest anything else?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"You're blushing, that's why. It's gotta be a certain boy."
"I'm just...it's because I... You ask too many questions!"
Marron turned around to walk away but Trunks followed her.
"I'm not going to tell you who it's for, Trunks!" Marron said. "You
will just have to figure it out for yourself!"
Trunks sighed. "Fine then, Marron-chan. But after you give it to
him and I still don't know, you'll tell me, right?"
Marron crossed her eyebrows and turned away. "Fine."
"Thanks."
The two were about to separate but the Bra and Pan stopped them.
"Wait, guys!" the two teenage girls called out. Trunks and Marron
faced them.
"What is it?" Marron asked. Bra and Pan were giggling uncontrollably.
"What is it?!" Trunks asked, now annoyed. Bra and Pan managed to
calm down a few minutes later.
"Well, brother..." Bra began. "Do you believe in tradition?"
"Yeah..." Trunks replied, quite confused. "What about it?"
"Would you kiss anyone who was under a mistletoe?" Pan asked. Trunks
and Marron looked up and saw a mistletoe hanging above them. They
looked down, blushing a little.
"You guys..." Bra began.
"Gotta KISS each other!" Pan finished.
"N-no way!" Trunks said.
"Can't you make an exception?" Marron asked.
Bra and Pan crossed their arms and shook their heads. "Kiss!"
"Hey! You can't make us!" Trunks said.
"Really?" Bra asked. She motioned for Trunks to come closer. She
cupped her hand around his ear and whispered something to him. His
eyes bulged when he heard what she said. Then he looked at Pan.
"You said you wouldn't tell!" he said.
"That's for not giving me the money you owed me a long, long
time ago." Pan said.
"But I forgot!" Trunks said.
"Sorry. I already told her and that's that." Pan replied. Trunks
crossed his arms.
"Fine!" he said. Then he faced Marron. "Well? You wanna get it
over with?"
"Kiss you?" Marron asked.
Trunks nodded in reply. "Besides, it's just one kiss. If we don't
then they'll never leave us alone."
Marron sighed. "Fine."
"Wait! Lemmie get my camera!" Bra said.
"Hurry before she gets it!" Trunks said. Marron pulled him closer
by his tie and kissed him passionately on the lips. When it ended,
the two teenagers were standing by them, quite speechless.
"Wow." Bra said. "That was the best kiss I've ever seen in my
life."
"Yeah." agreed Pan. "That was more than a minute or so."
"A minute?!" Marron asked.
"It was only a few seconds!" Trunks said.
"Tell that to my timer." Goten said.
"You saw it, too?!" Trunks asked.
"I did, too." Ubuu said.
"WHAT?!" Trunks said, starting to sweat and blush. Then he realized
that a crowd of other people saw it, including their families.
"It looks like Marron's gonna get a boyfriend soon." Kurillin
commented.
"Trunks and Marron..." Chichi said thoughtfully. "What a nice
couple."
"I didn't..." Trunks said.
"Boy, you shouldn't display affection in public!" Vegeta said. "It
sickens me!"
"I think it's sweet!" Bulma said. "Trunks, I'm so happy for you!"
"We were under the mistletoe, okay?!" Trunks said, trying not to
yell. The people shrugged and went off, talking about Trunks and
Marron. Trunks was flushed with embarrassment. Then he looked down
at Marron to see if she was just as annoyed by it as he was. But
to his surprise, she was actually smiling a little. She kept her
eyes on the floor and didn't sense him looking at her. But something
about it made him smile a little, too. Just...something.


"Mom! Grandma! Why do I have to do this?!" complained Pan.
"Oh c'mon, Pan-chan." Videl said. "It will be fun!"
"Don't you want to be in the spotlight?" Chichi asked.
"Not if I hafta sing!" Pan replied.
"Aww!" Bra said. "We need you!"
"Besides, it's only this once." Videl said.
"But mom..." Pan began.
"Pan, please sing with us." Videl said.
Pan hesitated then sighed. "Fine. If it'll make you happy, mom..."
"That's my girl!" Videl said, patting Pan's head. Pan slumped
down on a chair and looked down.
[How embarrassing! Imagine me, SINGING! I've been humiliated
enough when I had to stinkin' disco dance during the Black Star
Dragonball hunt and now THIS! Aw, man...]
"Is there anyone else who hates this as much as me?" Pan mumbled
to herself.
"But, Mama, I..." Marron started to say.
"Marron, just for tonight." Juuhachigou told her daughter. "If
I have to sing, I want you to sing with me."
"But you have the others..."
"It will make your father happy. Don't you want that?"
"Mama..."
"This doesn't happen everyday. Just for tonight. It will be amusing."
"I don't sing very well."
"Yes, you do." Bra said. "You sang really good when we were in
Tokyo and Goten wanted us to go sing kareoke."
Juuhachigou raised an eyebrow at her daughter. "Really?"
"That was a long, LONG time ago." Marron said.
"Fine then." Juuhachigou said.
Marron hesitated then finally gave in. "All right, Mama... I'll
sing..."
"Good." Juuhachigou said. Marron slumped down on a chair next to
Pan.
"I guess I'm not the only one who doesn't wanna sing." Pan said.
"Yes..." Marron replied.

"Welcome everybody to the Capsule Corporation Christmas party!" Bra
said on the microphone. The lights were dimmed and she was under the
spotlight. She smiled some more because she felt like a star.
"We hope you enjoy!" she said. Then the curtains opened up and
revealed Bulma, Chichi, Videl, Juuhachigou, Marron and Pan, ready to
sing. Bra turned around and winked.
"Okay. Everyone's ready." she said in stage whisper. Then she
faced front again and stepped back.


All: Santa o shinjite ita kodomo de sugosu ibu wa
Papa to Mama no ai ni mo kizukanaide


Chichi: tomodachi ni kikasareta are wa Papa no itazura

Bra: yume ga hitotsu kiete wa otona ni naru

All: tameiki kurisumasu

Marron: nee konya anata wa donna sutekina yume de

Pan: barairo no mirai ni sasotte kureru no?

Chichi, Videl and Juuhachigou: yuki no you ni

Marron and Pan: sunaona

Chichi, Videl and Juuhachigou: kegare no nai

Marron and Pan: watashi o

Chichi, Videl and Juuhachigou: misetaku naru

All: anata no mae de wa

Bra: utagau koto

Marron and Pan: shiranai

Bra: osanai hi no

Marron and Pan: watashi ni

Bra: modoresouna

All: sonna hito dakara
I believe you


Bulma: jitensha o oshinagara anata no ie tazuneta


Bra: Papa to Mama ni naisho no ibu no yoru wa


Juuhachigou and Chichi: hajimete na no

Bra: tegami no mafuraa o fukuro kara tori dashite

Videl: o-heya de kubi ni maki egao no okaeshi

Bra, Marron and Pan: yasashii kara

Juuhachigou and Chichi: sukina no

Bra, Marron and Pan: itsumo soba ni

Juuhachigou and Chichi: itai no

Bulma: anata no kiru pajama ni naritai

Chichi, Videl and Juuhachigou: mado no soto wa

Marron and Pan: kona yuki

Chichi, Videl and Juuhachigou: katayoseai

Marron and Pan: mitetara

Chichi, Videl and Juuhachigou: jibun no koto

All: tadashiku omoete
ureshii


All: the eve that you spend with children that believe in Santa
without noticing the love of father and mother also
presents that are delightful

Chichi: Asked friends over there is father's prank

Bra: dreams vanish once you become an adult

All: A sighful Christmas

Marron: Hey, tonight, what kind of lovely dream

Pan: will a rosy future be invited?

Chichi, Videl and Juuhachigou: like snow

Marron and Pan: docile

Chichi, Videl and Juuhachigou: nothing impure

Marron and Pan: I

Chichi, Videl and Juuhachigou: want to become seen

All: before you

Bra: doubtful things

Marron and Pan: I don't know

Bra: childish days

Marron and Pan: of mine

Bra: like turning back

All: because of this person
I believe you

Bulma: visited your house while pushing a bicycle

Bra: father's and mother's secret eve night

Juuhachigou and Chichi: has started

Bra: a hand knitted muffler was taken out from a bag

Videl: in the room, wrapped around the neck a return gift of a smiling
face

Bra, Marron and Pan: because of gentleness

Juuhachigou and Chichi: I love you

Bra, Marron and Pan: always near you

Juuhachigou and Chichi: it hurts to be

Bulma: I want to become the pajamas that you wear

Chichi, Videl and Juuhachigou: the outside window

Marron and Pan: flour snow

Chichi, Videl and Juuhachigou: standing, arm across each other

Marron and Pan: if you see

Chichi, Videl and Juuhachigou: things of mine

All: surely you can think of
that would make me happy



{clap! clap! clap! clap! clap! clap! clap! clap! clap!}
"We...we...we were actually GOOD!" Bra squealed happily. "They
loved us!"
"Encore!" someone said from the audience, behind the curtains.
"Didja hear that?! Didja?" Bra asked. "They want MORE! Let's
give them more!"
"Calm down, Bra-chan." Marron said. "Calm down."
"I...will...GIVE THEM MORE!" Bra said and ran out to the stage.
"You love me! You really love me!" Bra cried out.
"Oh my goodness..." Marron said to herself.


(Sign: Poker Tournament)

[How relaxing.] Trunks thought to himself as he arranged the cards
in his hand. [Glad I got off from work to come to this party.]
[Gee...] Goten thought. [I wonder when we'll get to eat...]
[Poker...] Pan thought. [How boring. Why can't we just have a
fighting tournament outside?! Oh...]
[Thank you, Kami!] Bra thought. [They love me! They love me!]
[Oh...] Marron thought. [The exchanging of gifts is coming soon.
How will I give my present?]
[HA! HA! HA!] Ubuu thought. [A straight flush!]

"Okay guys," Bra said. "What do you have?" She placed down her
cards, face up. "Two of a kind."
"Four pair." Trunks said.
"Four of a kind." Goten said.
"Full house." Pan said.
"Three of a kind." Marron said.
"Straight flush." Ubuu said.
"HA!" a voice bellowed from behind them. A strange man that dressed
like the king of spades put down some card on the table. "Royal
straight flush!"
The six friends stared at him.
"Royal straight flush?" Trunks asked.
"There's no such thing!" Ubuu said.
"Of course there is! I am the poker king and I get ALL YOUR MONEY!"


(a few minutes later, outside of Capsule Corp.)
"Hey! Let me out!" yelled a big man who dressed like the king of
spades, wrapped tightly with a tatami mat. "Hey! Can anybody hear
me?!"


"Finally!" Bra announced on the microphone. "The exchanging of
gifts!"

"Here, mom." Goten said, handing Chichi a carefully wrapped package.
"Why, thank you, Goten!" Chichi said, taking the gift.

"Here you are Master Goku." Ubuu said, giving Goku a gift.
"Hey! Thanks, Ubuu!" Goku said.

"Um...here." Pan said, giving her boyfriend a present.
"Thanks, Pan-chan!" he said. He took out a gift and gave it to
Pan. "Merry Christmas to you, too."
They both blushed and took their presents.

"Here, Daddy!" Bra said, giving a present to Vegeta. "I made it
myself!"
Vegeta actually smiled and took the present.

Marron tightened her grip on the package she was holding. She had
already gave her presents to the others and just had to give the
homemade one.
[How do I do this...?] she thought nervously. Then she saw him.
He had a gift in his hand. It looked like the homemade one. He wrapped
it up himself and she could tell because the wrapper was all messed
up. It looked like he was coming towards her and then...he turned
another direction. He handed the present to someone else. She couldn't
tell who the person was but it was definitely a woman. The crowd
covered her face but she could see her dress.
[I-I can't belive you...] Marron thought. [I can't believe you,...
Trunks...]
She held the gift close to her chest and ran outside.


"Marron!" Trunks called out as he opened the doors and went outside.
Then he found her. She was sitting down on a chair, cradling something
in her arms. It was a present. He walked over to her.
"Marron." he said. "I've been looking all over for you."
Marron looked up with eyes that looked like they were going to
burst out in tears any minute.
"Hello, Trunks." Marron said. "Is everything all right?"
"Yes. Of course." Trunks replied, sitting down on a chair next to
her. "How about you?"
"I'm just a little upset, that's all."
"Oh? How come?"
"It's just...nothing. Just nothing."
"Hey. I thought that present was for someone. Aren't you gonna
give it to him? Did he go already?"
"No. No, he's still here. Actually it's..." She hesitated then
she slowly handed the gift to Trunks. "It's for you, Trunks-kun."
Trunks took the present and felt himself blush a little. "Th-thanks
a lot, Marron-chan."
Marron nodded. "You can open it now. I-I don't mind."
Trunks unwrapped the paper carefully and took out a hand-knitted
muffler. "Wow. This is nice."
"I...I know it's not really that cold out but y'know,...it could
get quite chilly out there. And-and if you don't like it, you can
just give it back."
"No, no. I love it."
Marron blushed. "Really? I could get you another present, if you
want. I'll buy it so there's no worries."
"No! No, this is perfect."
"Well then... You're welcome."
Trunks looked at Marron. She kept her face turned away. Then her
shoulders went up as she let out a sob.
"Marron, are you all right?" Trunks asked.
Marron could only nod. Then she let out another sob. Trunks put
his arm around her shoulders.
"Why are you crying?" he asked.
"Nothing." she replied softly. "No particular reason..."
"C'mon, Marron. You can tell me."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"It's nothing, Trunks. Nothing. I'm just...disappointed about
something."
"About what?"
"It's just..." She looked up at Trunks. Then she clenched her
fists as she tried to force a smile. "I was hoping that...I would...
get a present...a homemade present from a...certain boy... But...but
I'm being too selfish, aren't I?"
"A little." Trunks admitted. "But you deserve it. Who is the...
certain boy you wanted a present from?"
"Do you honestly want to know?"
"Yeah."
"Well...since it's Christmas and all, I should give you a break.
It could take a while if you tried to figure out by yourself. It's
no big deal, really and you would probably forget about it by
tomorrow. Well...I was...don't take this the wrong way but...I was
kinda expecting a gift from...um...you."
Marron lowered her gaze to the ground and tried to not let Trunks
know that she was blushing. A lot.
"I-I'm sorry. I'm selfish. Very." Marron said.
"No, you aren't." Trunks said.
"I guess since you gave the homemade present to that girl, she's
probably your sweetheart or something. I-I'm not jealous or anything,
I'm happy for you."
"Marron..."
"I mean, just because I really, REALLY care for you doesn't mean
that my heart is completely broken into pieces because you're in
love with another woman."
"I..."
"I understand, Trunks. I'm really happy for you." She covered her
face and started to sob. "I'm really, REALLY happy for you."
"Marron..."
"It's not like I hate you now for doing this to me. It's your
life and you can choose who you love even though it's not me."
"Marron..."
"And it's not like..."
"Marron! Would you let me talk?!"
Marron stopped. Her face was still buried in her hands but she was
ready to listen. Trunks took out a tiny box, wrapped up neatly from
his pocket. He uncovered Marron's face, wiped away her tears and
made her face him.
"Marron," he said, putting the box into her hand. "You know I'm
not a jeweler so if I made this present by hand, it'd look awful.
Besides, I already had it and all I needed to do was give it to you."
Marron looked down at the box in her hand. "T-Trunks..."
"Open it." Trunks said. Marron gingerly unwrapped the paper around
the box. It was a red velvet box. She was almost afraid to open it
but she did so anyway. Inside was the ring Trunks gave her before
leaving a long time ago, the ring he didn't remember that day when
she was buying manga and bumped into him, the ring she left on the
table that day she decided to get over Trunks and the ring she threw
away when Trunks proposed to her before she left.
"Marron," Trunks said. "That's not all. I want to ask you...I...
will you--"
Marron closed the velvet box and handed it to Trunks. "Keep it,
Trunks. It fits better on another girl's finger than mine."
"But Marron..."
Marron placed the box into Trunks' hand and stood up. "I had a
nice talk with you. I'll see you later."
"Where are you going?"
"Inside. I think I'll sing with Bra." She bowed. "Merry Christmas,
Trunks. I hope you find someone who is perfect for that ring. And...
and...perfect for...for you..."
Trunks stood up and walked to Marron. "Marron, I..."
Marron stepped back from Trunks. "Merry Christmas."
Trunks wanted to say something else but he didn't. "Merry Christmas
to you, too, Marron."
Marron smiled and walked away.
"Maybe now isn't the perfect time." Trunks said as he watched Marron
leave. He squeezed the box in his hand. "But I know you're the perfect
girl."